Bobby Bandiera & Friends set historic night to benefit Parker Family Health Center and POAC Autism Services

(RED BANK – OCT 15) Musician, bandleader and community icon Bobby Bandiera and the Count Basie Center for the Arts have announced details for HOPE 10 – THE FINAL HOPE CONCERT.

The annual charity concert, which has raised millions for area community organizations, will take place at the Basie Center on Sunday, December 23. Tickets, priced between $50 and $500, go on sale this Friday, Oct. 19 at noon through theBASIE.org, charge by phone at 732-842-9000 and the Basie Center box office, located onsite at 99 Monmouth Street in Red Bank.

Tickets for Count Basie Center members will go on sale beginning this Wednesday, Oct. 17. Visit www.thebasie.org/membership for more information.

“This is our tenth HOPE concert, and I’ve been proud to gather my friends at the Basie to help out for so many great causes in our community,” said HOPE founder and bandleader Bobby Bandiera. “For this final HOPE concert, POAC Autism Services and the Parker Family Health CENTER will be our beneficiaries, and I couldn’t think of two better organizations to represent all that these concerts have stood for.”

“The list of organizations that Hope concerts have benefitted over the past years is significant,” said Adam Philipson, President and CEO, Count Basie Center for the Arts. “This year’s deserving organizations will benefit greatly from the generosity of time and talent of the artists. But this year we also take off our hats and honor an icon and treasure to our community — Bobby himself.”

“What a privilege to share in the celebration of the talent and altruism of one of the Shore’s treasures, Bobby Bandiera,” said Dr. Gene Cheslock, founder of the Parker Family Health Center. “We’re honored to celebrate an outstanding citizen of our singular community. Bobby has done so much to bring us all closer together with no expectation of recognition.”

“At POAC Autism Services, our goal is to ‘Make Life Better Every Day’ for everyone affected by autism in New Jersey,” said Gary Weitzen, Executive Director, POAC Autism Services. “Bobby Bandiera has been doing exactly that for nonprofit organizations, and all the people they serve, for years. His giving spirit has touched so many lives locally and throughout our state. We are absolutely thrilled to be a part of Hope X and grateful to be a beneficiary and part of Bobby’s legacy of generosity.”

The first HOPE concert took place in 2003, and on a semi-annual basis since, the shows have raised millions of dollars for charity organizations, including the Visiting Nurse Association of Central New Jersey, Mary’s Place By The Sea in Ocean Grove, Horizons Student Enrichment Program at Rumson Country Day School, Fulfill (the Foodbank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties), 180 Turning Lives Around, The Valerie Fund at Unterberg Children’s Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center, Red Bank Borough Schools, and programs at both the Basie and the Two River Theater.

The concert’s reputation for attracting star-studded lineups is also legendary, with artists like Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Blondie’s Deborah Harry, Brian Fallon, Southside Johnny Lyon, Max Weinberg, Nicole Atkins, Glen Burtnick, John Cafferty, Richie “LaBamba” Rosenberg and Gary U.S. Bonds among the HOPE alumni.

Artists participating in this final iteration of the HOPE concert will be announced closer to the show.

“Though this is the final HOPE concert,” Bandiera noted, “it’s important that the spirit of giving back through music lives on for years to come. With that in mind, HOPE 10 is going to be an incredible celebration.”